10 Nonfiction Books About Activism for Teens
by Laura Lambert
The face of social activism looks a lot different, lately. Teens are at the forefront of the fight to address climate change, for women’s rights, to enact gun control — you name it. And this new generation is social media savvy, bold, and full of a new kind of activist spirit.
There is a spate of new books to help foster that spirit and spread it wide. Here are ten titles to help awaken the activist inside your soon-to-be young adult.
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Yes You Can! Your Guide to Becoming an Activist
Available from:Jane Drake and Ann Love are sisters, literally, and also sisters-in-arms in the fight for the environment. Together, they put together a nine-point plan to help tweens and teens bring about social change — from galvanizing negative feelings into positive action to deciding what to do when red tape or apathy threatens your cause.
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Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration
Available from:At the heart of any push for social change is the belief that change is possible — a.k.a. hope. This collection of essays about hope from 24 YA authors — including Angie Thomas, Nicola Yoon, and Jason Reynolds — is meant to help turn a quiet sense of hope into something real and vital. “I wanted them to recognize that despite their present-day obstacles, holding on to hope and allowing it to drive them forward is essential, even if baby steps are required,” writes editor Rose Brock. “In simplest terms, hope is a decision. It requires a commitment. And it’s my hope that, by being shown a window into a beloved author’s own experiences, teens will choose to fight for hope in their own lives.”
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Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time
If you’ve seen the 2013 documentary “Girl Rising,” you already know that “one girl with courage is a revolution.” That’s also the message at the heart of this companion book by award-winning author Tanya Lee Stone, which grew out of that film. Per Kirkus, it’s “a moving account of hardships and triumphs that is bound to inspire future activists … a devastating but crucial read.”
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Putting Peace First: 7 Commitments to Change the World
Available from:Eric Dawson was just 18 when he founded what is now the global nonprofit Peace First, so he knows a thing or two about the power of a teen with a strong idea for social change. In Putting Peace First, Dawson outlines seven ways for other teens to use the power of peacemaking to fight the injustices they see in this world.
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Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength and Courage
Available from:In this robust collection of essays, teens read firsthand accounts of people from actress Alia Shawkat to former NFL player Wade Davis, as well as poets and politicians, of how they faced down racism, sexism, homophobia, or classism — and came out the other side, stronger, wiser and more resilient. These stories showcase the bravery — and the spirit of persistence — that’s in the heart of any activist.
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Steal This Country: A Handbook for Resistance, Persistence, and Fixing Almost Everything
Kirkus calls Steal This Country, the “best social justice guidebook we’ve seen in some time.” It’s a mix of how-to and personal accounts, with some celebrity cred, all inspired by Steal This Book, the 1968 counterculture manual by Abbie Hoffman. According to author Styron, the people featured in Steal This Country are curious, thoughtful, and all were once teenagers. Plus “they’ve all seen injustice in the world around them and instead of being paralyzed by despair, they became energized by hope.”
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On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope
Available from:More mature teens may find inspiration in this adult title. On the Other Side of Freedom is a collection of essays by DeRay Mckesson, the Black Lives Matter activist who made a name for himself amidst the civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the shooting of an unarmed African American teenager, Michael Brown. This book captures the social media-driven nature of today’s protests (think Twitter, Facebook Live, and cell phone videos) and helps define modern activism in millennial terms.
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Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice (Adapted for Young Adults)
Available from:The bestselling 2014 book Just Mercy has been revised for a younger audience. This is a compassionate lawyer’s-eye-view of our broken criminal justice system, as told by Bryan Stevenson, who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the wrongfully convicted, and those condemned to death. Through storytelling, he helps a generation of young people find the courage to challenge the racial and economic injustice we see every day.
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We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting by the Parkland Student Journalists
This is the story of the Parkland shooting, as told by the student journalists of Marjory Stoneman Douglas who were there and edited by two of their teachers.
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Glimmer of Hope: How Tragedy Sparked a Movement
Available from:Another title to arise from the tragic Parkland shooting, this by the founders of The March for Our Lives movement. It features the voices of the 24 survivors and positions itself as the “official, definitive” book of the youth-led gun control movement that, in many ways, cut through the political morass and gave the fight for gun control new energy and momentum.
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What books would you recommend for teens who are interested in activism? Let us know in the comments below!